Calendar: February 20-26, 2026
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.
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PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed
2/9: David Schroeder, 66 (house organist, The Virginia Theatre, Champaign Park District, Champaign, IL)
THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U
What we’re seeing on our beat this week … Learning opportunities are the key takeaway from this trip ‘round the block! First, we recently discovered OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Illinois, which offers online and hybrid teaching for the older generation in east central Illinois, and that certain classes this semester are being taught by friends in film. Perry C. Morris will share “A Brief History of Champaign and Urbana Theaters” weekly between February 25 and April 15, while Chuck Koplinski will investigate “Is It Still Funny? Film Comedy from Different Eras” weekly between February 25 and April 22, except for on March 18, and “The Victorian Novel, Dickens and Trollope, on Film” will be led by local classical music expert John Frayne from February 27 to April 17 …
Senior honors student M. E. Colby, who attends Eastern Illinois University, has combined her love of butterfly research with training in video production to arrive at BUTTERFLIES & YOU, a 24-minute documentary about the various species that inhabit Illinois and the work of the Urban Butterfly Initiative, a non-profit organization based in Charleston. After several semesters’ worth of planning, shooting, and traveling the state thanks to a grant, the double major in communications and biology saw her thesis project air on WEIU-TV and debut via YouTube on Tuesday, January 13 …
Community members young and older have opportunities to stoke their creative fires and hone their brewing skill sets in the coming weeks. A final Pens to Lens workshop for the last-minute massaging of scripts, written by K-12 students and teams from the immediate area, will be held on Saturday, February 28, 1 p.m., at the Urbana Health and Wellness Center on Washington Street, while Flyover Film Studios has a pair of half-weeks dedicated to crash courses on camerawork, led by the cinematographer and producer Robert Patrick Stern, slated for March 9-13 and 16-19 in Rantoul. The latter, which do have a sizeable participation fee, follow a free introductory look at how different makes and models of cameras behave that is scheduled for later tonight, Friday, February 20, at the campus … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
25 Years Ago … Tuesday, January 23, 2001: A prolific distributor of micro-budget films and related collectibles, Sub Rosa Studios of Syracuse, New York, announces a trio of new titles releasing to the home video market. One is the debut feature-length project from Shut Up and Do It Productions of Champaign, DOGS IN QUICKSAND, which was filmed by writer/director Mike Trippiedi and cinematographer/editor Bill Yauch with cast and crew in numerous Champaign County locations during the summer of 1997. Although several of their recent video shorts have played in regional film festivals, earned awards in competition, and received coverage in periodicals friendly to the emerging “backyard cinema” movement in America such as Film Threat and Shock Cinema, DOGS is the first effort to be made widely available to the general public in any format. Local audiences received an initial look at the movie, a dark and quirky comedy about an estranged small-town couple played by Anne Shapland Kearns and Trippiedi whose lives are turned upside down after a murder occurs, in November 1999 as a selection of the third Freaky Film Festival at the New Art Theater. PSYCHO SCARECROW and THE MURDER MEN are the other two indies being premiered on VHS by Sub Rosa, which would reissue DOGS in various DVD sets over the next several years after rebranding as SRS Cinema. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Analog Wine Library, Urbana, IL, 6 p.m.
Film Fanatic Movie Nights* presents THE UNKNOWN (1927) (2/26, 6 p.m.)
@ Flyover Film Studios, Rantoul, IL
“Flyover Labs: Camera & Lens Shootout” gear demonstration (2/20, 6 p.m., free w/ticket)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents “2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films” series: 2/20: Live Action (7 p.m.), 2/21: Animation (7 p.m.), 2/22: Documentary (3 p.m.)
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
UI Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and Spurlock Museum present 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA w/discussion (in Ukrainian with English sub) (2/24, 5 p.m.)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BLADES OF THE GUARDIANS* (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub), HOW TO MAKE A KILLING, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2, MIDWINTER BREAK, PSYCHO KILLER, REDUX REDUX, THIS IS NOT A TEST, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH*, CRIME 101, GOAT (animation), GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE, SEND HELP, SOLO MIO, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2/20 on), Fan Faves: FRUITVALE STATION* (2/20-2/26) and SINNERS* (2/20-2/26), K-POPS! sneak preview w/Anderson .Paak live discussion (2/24, 7:30 p.m., simulcast), TWENTY-ONE PILOTS: MORE THAN WE EVER IMAGINED (music documentary) (2/26, 6 p.m.), EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary), K-POPS!, SCREAM 7 (2/26 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary; IMAX), HOW TO MAKE A KILLING, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2, PSYCHO KILLER, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, COLD STORAGE, CRIME 101, GOAT (animation), GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE, IRON LUNG, MARTY SUPREME, SEND HELP, SOLO MIO, THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (2/20 on), Indian cinema: HEY BHAGAWAN (in Telugu with English sub; 2/21-2/25), ASSI* (in Hindi with English sub; 2/21-2/25), and DO DEEWANE SEHER MEIN* (in Hindi with English sub; 2/21-2/25), BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (2/22, 3 & 7 p.m.; 2/25, 7 p.m.), HOMECOMING: THE TOKYO SERIES (sports documentary) (2/23-2/24, 7 p.m.), SCREAM 7 (2/26 on) *single screenings daily
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. ZOOTOPIA 2 (2/20-2/21, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Mix 94.5 & Rewind 92.5 present MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (animé) (2/21, 1 & 7 p.m.)
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ AMC Classic 12, Springfield, IL
Springfield Art Association presents Molly Schlich Independent | International Film Series feat. TERRESTRIAL VERSES (2/22, 1 & 4 p.m.; 2/24, 7 p.m.)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2/20-2/22), GOAT (animation) (2/26 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
LOSING GROUND (2/20-2/22), DO THE RIGHT THING (2/21-2/22), ANCIENT BEACONS LONG FOR NOTICE feat. live discussion w/artist-filmmaker Dario Robleto (2/24, 7 p.m., free) ISU Queer Coalition, etc., present three short films by Marlon Riggs: AFFIRMATIONS, ANTHEM, and NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN (NO REGRET) w/discussion (2/25, 7 p.m., free), Three Minute Thesis research competition (2/26, 6 p.m.)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
SEND HELP (2/20-2/22)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, please visit the fine folks at Cine-File and subscribe to their definitive “Cine-List” weekly blast. And for northern Illinois industry news, be sure to read Reel Chicago, Screen Magazine, and the Chicago Reader.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
2/28
43rd Insect Fear Film Festival*
@ Foellinger Auditorium, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m., free
NEW! 3/9-3/13
“Spring Break (SB1) Camera Department Intensive”
@ Flyover Film Studios, Rantoul, IL
NEW! 3/16-3/19
“Spring Break (SB2) Camera Department Intensive”
@ Flyover Film Studios, Rantoul, IL
NEW! 3/20-4/12
20th Asian Pop-Up Cinema festival
@ AMC Newcity 14, Chicago, IL
4/3-4/10
28th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/9-4/12
36th Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Chicago, IL
4/17-4/19
26th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
9/7-9/17
44th Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
@ Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema + Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Chambana Film Society presents “The Savoy Arthouse”
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 3 p.m. unless noted otherwise
“2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films” series: 2/27: Animation (7 p.m.), 2/28: Documentary (7 p.m.), and 3/1: Live Action (3 p.m.)
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
2/27-2/28: FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2; 3/6-3/7: THE RUNNING MAN; 3/13-3/14: THE HOUSEMAID; 3/27-3/28: WICKED: FOR GOOD; 4/3-4/4: ANACONDA; 4/10-4/11: MERCY; 4/17-4/18: 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE
Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies events
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. (unless noted otherwise)
3/5: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER screening; 3/30: THE WIZ screening
Springfield Art Association presents the 31st annual Molly Schlich Independent | International Film Series
@ AMC Classic Springfield 12, Springfield, IL, 1 & 4 p.m. Sunday + 7 p.m. Tuesday
3/1, 3/3: NIGHT CALL; 3/8, 3/10: THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2026 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
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